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G. Nagesh Rao, a member of the career Senior Executive Service, currently serves as Acting Director of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Before joining NIST, he was Chief Information Officer for the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), also within the U.S. Department of Commerce. Over the last 25+ years, Mr. Rao has worked for numerous organizations in the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors. Read more

Karen Wetzel joined the NICE team in October 2020 to lead efforts around the development, improvement, and application of the NICE Workforce Framework for Cybersecurity (NICE Framework) in support of an integrated ecosystem of cybersecurity education, training, and workforce development. Karen specializes in community engagement and collaborating with stakeholders and subject matter experts to identify, communicate, and develop guidance, tools, and resources and to address emerging trends and opportunities. Prior to joining NICE, Karen held positions as Director of the Community Groups and Working Groups programs at EDUCAUSE and as Standards Program Manager for the National Information Standards Organization (NISO).

Stephen Eckel is a physicist in the Sensor Science Division. His research focuses on using atoms, both at room temperature and ultracold, to probe thermodynamic quantities like pressure and temperature in calibration-free ways. He earned his Ph.D. at Yale University in 2012 and came to NIST as a postdoctoral researcher working with Bose-Einstein condensates. When not in the lab working with atoms and lasers, you will most likely find him tending to his garden or driving antique Stanley Steam cars.

Brian Gutierrez is a public affairs specialist covering energy, climate, fire and wildfire science, buildings and construction, community resilience, robotics, and manufacturing research. Prior to working at NIST, he worked as a podcast producer for institutions including National Geographic, The Wall Street Journal and Freakonomics Radio. In his free time, he enjoys reading science fiction, tinkering with electronics and playing with his dog, Olive.

Brad has been studying sustainable materials since 2012. He has looked at DNA for drug delivery purposes, worked on bacteria for synthesizing new bioplastics, and used wood pulp to reinforce our plastics. He joined NIST as an NRC postdoctoral fellow in 2022 and started using his material characterization knowledge to help make recycling a more industrially viable process. He currently lives in Rockville, Maryland, with his fiancée, Deb, and their beloved cat, Kiki.

Kristen’s work as the Manager of Workforce Partnerships at Catalyst Connection, which is part of the MEP National Network, includes building relationships that maximize individual and organizational success. She has extensive experience using Carnegie Mellon University’s Professors’ Human Centered Design Thinking methodology for executing strategies, is certified in YALOM group therapy, and is trained to resolve conflicts through the Baltimore City Crisis Hotline Center. She developed an employee mentor training curriculum and a 21st century employee readiness and performance measurement tool. 

Marcia Ayala is the President of Aurora Specialty Textiles Group, Inc., a textile processing operation in Illinois that has been around since the 1880s. She is also a board member with IMEC, the Illinois MEP Center.